A small sedan, suddenly facing an oncoming car while apparently overtaking on a blind rise, “side-swiped” the full minibus taxi it was overtaking, forcing it off the road and killing four people in it.
Transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the accident happened on the N2 between KwaBhaca (formerly Mount Frere) and Qumbu at 12.30pm on Monday.
Twelve people suffered severe injuries and were rushed to hospital.
The accident has pushed the road death toll in the Eastern Cape to 231 since the beginning of the festive season on December 1.
Binqose said: “It is alleged that the driver of a Toyota Yaris was overtaking the Toyota Quantum on a double line when he was confronted by another oncoming vehicle while driving side-by-side with the taxi.
“It is alleged he then decided to avoid colliding head-on with the oncoming vehicle by pushing the taxi off the road.”
Binqose said three women passengers and the man driving the taxi were killed instantly.
All 12 injured were rushed to Madzikane ka Zulu Memorial hospital in KwaBhaca with severe injuries, said Binqose.
Binqose said the taxi and the sedan were travelling towards Qumbu from the KwaBhaca direction at the time.
The four were all declared dead at the scene of the horror smash, he said.
Binqose added that the Quantum had rolled a number of times down a steep embankment with the passengers trapped inside.
The driver of the Yaris survived and would soon face four charges of culpable homicide in court.
Eight people died on Eastern Cape roads on the weekend.
Two died in a crash on the R61 near Aberdeen on Sunday.
One of the accidents claimed the lives of OR Tambo district mayor Nomakhosazana Meth’s two sons.
They were killed on Saturday on the N2 in Mthatha when one of them lost control of their vehicle, causing it to overturn.
Bradley Meth, 18, and Ndiphelele Diko, 21, died and two other occupants of the car were hurt.
One of the mayor’s sons was the driver, confirmed Binqose.
The injured passengers, a woman and a man, were taken to Nelson Mandela Academic hospital, said Binqose.
On Friday, four people were killed in a head-on collision between Port Elizabeth and Makhanda on the N2...